| Title: | "Evaluating Response of Mass-Reared and Irradiated Navel Orangeworm, Amyelois transitella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), to Crude Female Pheromone Extract" |
| Author(s): | Reger J; Wenger J; Brar G; Burks C; Wilson H; |
| Address: | "Department of Plant Science, California State University, 2415 E San Ramon, Fresno, CA 93740, USA. Department of Entomology, University of California, 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. USDA, Agricultural Research Service, San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center 9611 South Riverbend Avenue, Parlier, CA 93648-9757, USA" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2075-4450 (Print) 2075-4450 (Electronic) 2075-4450 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "The navel orangeworm, Amyleois transitella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a key pest of almonds and pistachios in California. Larvae directly feed on nuts, reducing quality and yield, and adults can introduce fungi that produce aflatoxins. The development of sterile insect technique (SIT) is currently being explored as a management tool for this pest. Large quantities of A. transitella are mass-reared, irradiated, and shipped to California from a USDA APHIS facility in Phoenix, AZ. Preliminary field releases of sterile A. transitella from this facility resulted in poor recovery of males in pheromone traps, raising concerns that mass-reared male A. transitella may not be responding to pheromone from virgin females. In this study, a wind tunnel was used to evaluate the response of both irradiated and non-irradiated mass-reared A. transitella males to crude pheromone extract from females, and their performance was compared to two strains of locally reared non-irradiated A. transitella. While initial responses associated with pheromone detection where similar between mass-reared and locally reared moths, a lower proportion of the mass-reared moths ultimately made contact with the pheromone source. Surprisingly, the addition of irradiation did not further decrease their performance. While mass-reared moths respond to pheromone, their ability to locate and make contact with the pheromone source appears to be impeded. The underlying mechanism remains unclear, but is likely related to damage incurred during the mass-rearing and shipping process" |
| Keywords: | Amyelois transitella Lepidoptera Pyralidae almonds pistachios sterile insect technique wind tunnel; |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEReger, Joshua Wenger, Jacob Brar, Gurreet Burks, Charles Wilson, Houston eng Switzerland 2020/10/21 Insects. 2020 Oct 15; 11(10):703. doi: 10.3390/insects11100703" |
